At The Ponderosa

Our favorite nearby brew pub.  We nearly always order fish and chips.
 

Margaret gets a glass of Kölsch.  I like the Ripsaw Red.

Something to Declare

An online search failed to turn up anything interesting to read, so I started poking around in my book shelves.  I found a copy of Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez that I had somehow never read.  That was a surprise because she is one of my favorites and I have read most of what she has written.

The book is a collection of short articles and essays written over a period of years about the author's experiences as an immigrant to the U.S.  She recounts her early childhood in the Dominican Republic within a large and prosperous family, including her three sisters. Her father was a doctor and her beloved grandfather a cultural affairs delegate to the United Nations. What soon became obvious was that status and wealth were no barriers to the scrutiny of the dictator Trujillo's secret police.

The family's vulnerability was increased by the fact that Alvarez's father owned a prohibited firearm and he was a participant in the clandestine resistance to the dictatorship. When a secret police vehicle started blocking their driveway at night it was clear that the time had come to escape the island.  

Permission to travel to the United States was narrowly obtained on the pretext of advanced surgical studies by the father.  The family's wealth and connections allowed them to fly to New York where they found asylum, and thus began Julia's challenge of learning to navigate a new culture and a new language. Her long list of well-received books in her adopted language is a testament to her arduous but successful journey.  

Alternative Approaches to Tariffs

As Trump's devastation of the economy progresses it is worthwhile considering what a thoughtful use of tariffs might look like.  Zyphyr Teachout's latest column in The Nation explores that idea, with dissections of both the MAGA and the neoliberal Democrat strategies.

"Trump’s chaotic, personalized trade agenda is certainly extreme. But so is the opposite vision: tariff abolition, with no guardrails, no democratic planning, and no strategy. Real industrial policy—the kind that builds capacity, disperses power, and supports workers—lives between those extremes. That’s the tradition we should be reclaiming."

Read:

 Trade, Monopoly, and the Fight We Can’t Let Trump Define

Trump's Tariffs Policy Explained

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Aenean ut orci sit amet massa lobortis aliquam. Fusce id arcu nec elit molestie ultrices id ut lorem. Sed nibh risus, pharetra non neque facilisis, feugiat rutrum enim. Nam fermentum, ex placerat imperdiet tristique, eros nisl commodo nisi, suscipit imperdiet augue leo et nulla. Etiam venenatis neque vel efficitur pulvinar. Duis iaculis tortor sit amet eros pulvinar, at vulputate diam mattis. Curabitur sodales, est et condimentum tempus, mauris dolor congue justo, ac ultricies eros ligula in mi. Ut tincidunt ultrices libero, ac vehicula mauris mattis quis. Sed ac placerat orci, sed vulputate nunc. Nam fermentum nibh nec tortor hendrerit efficitur. Suspendisse potenti. Aliquam sit amet arcu suscipit, rhoncus magna non, placerat sem. Proin aliquet consequat ligula sed luctus. Morbi non laoreet augue, nec porttitor erat. Vestibulum tincidunt convallis maximus.

Planet of the Apes

 It seems every generation of Americans have to relearn the lessons of the past about the irrational fear of the other. 

The task is always made more difficult by systematic efforts to obscure and rewrite well documented accounts of previous intolerance such as we see now being conducted by the Trump administration.

Fortunately, there are still many easily accessed resources for learning and teaching about irrational and destructive prejudice.  One very good one is the non-profit densho.org which got its start twenty-five years ago in Bellevue, Washington.  The area's Japanese-American community drew on its own experience with WWII internment as inspiration to put together a thorough multi-media effort to create a fact-based tool-set for combating intolerance.

While the primary focus of Densho is based on the personal history accounts of the Japanese-American community, the website also provides a good overview of the many versions of intolerance which have plagued the country.  The highlights of the story are told very nicely in the short film, "Other": A brief history of American xenophobia.

Worth A Look

The rise of end times fascism
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
 

 The two authors have gone to the trouble of delineating the unifying philosophy of the far right elite. It's fundamental properties are a fear of regulation that puts limits on massive wealth acquisition, and the construction of refuges from the apocalyptic future which they are responsible for facilitating.

Clueless

 From the way that the tariffs were rolled out it is clear that Trump really has no clue about the economic effects of his actions or how to manage the process. However, that is not a barrier to the objectives of the 2025 Project.  The chaos created by Trump's flailing executive orders creates a climate which facilitates the destruction of the institutions of government as specified in the Heritage Foundation publications which lay out the Project 2025 agenda.

A good example of how the 2025 authors are now manipulating the process is the recent modification of the tariffs to exempt smart phones and computers from the tariffs.  That is likely to be enough to quell the alarm among the Trump base that depends on social media for its news. Trump clearly lacks the analytic capacity to make that kind of course adjustment, but he is the perfect conduit for those close to him who pull his strings.

 

A Message for Elon

 Listen to Khawuleza

Miriam Makeba at Wikipedia

Romance sonámbulo

© mike connealy

Verde que te quiero verde.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.
El barco sobre la mar
y el caballo en la montaña.
Con la sombra en la cintura
ella sueña en su baranda
verde carne, pelo verde,
con ojos de fría plata.
Verde que te quiero verde.
Bajo la luna gitana,
las cosas la están mirando
y ella no puede mirarlas.
Verde que te quiero verde.
Grandes estrellas de escarcha,
vienen con el pez de sombra
que abre el camino del alba.
La higuera frota su viento
con la lija de sus ramas,
y el monte, gato garduño,
eriza sus pitas agrias.
¿Pero quién vendrá? ¿Y por dónde...?
Ella sigue en su baranda,
verde carne, pelo verde,
soñando en la mar amarga.
. . .
Verde que te quiero verde.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.
El barco sobre la mar
y el caballo en la montaña.

---

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)

What Next?

 A couple thousand people showed up for the Hands Off protest in Albuquerque's Civic Center.  Speakers included Mayor Tim Keller, ex-Interior Secretary and Gov. canditate Deb Haaland and 95-year-old Dolores Huerta.  There were apparently similar demonstrations all over the country.

So, what is the Republican plan going forward?  Chaos is the most predicable course.  The economic downturn from Trump's tariffs seems inevitable, and that portends a retaking of the House and Senate by the Democrats.  However, two years is clearly enough time to achieve great damage to the country's institutions given how much Trump has already done.

None of the above signals a setback for the 2025 agenda which already includes a large component of election process destruction.  An intensification of that effort can be expected, along with a step-up of the attack on the authority of the courts and constitutional protections.

The Democrats will try to reconstitute their base.  Cory Booker has put himself into the Presidential race in four years -- if there will be one

Pictures from NPR

Pictures from The Guardian 

Amateur Hour

 Revelations about the use of the Signal chat app by Hegseth and other high-level security officials is a good example of what results from putting unqualified people into positions of authority over critical missions.

Trump characterized the incident as a "glitch".  What happens when a similar glitch shows up in the management of nuclear weapons during a crisis?

What other insecure and unauthorized platforms are used by the people involved in the Signal incident?

What was the purpose behind inviting the Editor of The Atlantic magazine to join the conversation on Signal?

There are a lot of questions that need answers.

For an overview of the incident see the opinion piece in the NY Times by former JAG lawyer David French, The Worst Part of Pete Hegseth’s Group Chat Debacle.

Barbra

I had scanned the books in half a dozen library aisles when I was surprised to come across Barbra Streisand's autobiography, My Name is Barbra. I had read a couple reviews, so I decided to check out the book.

I remember when I first became aware of Barbra Streisand's appearance in the media in 1960s New York.  My girlfriend at the time - also born with the name Barbara and also from Brooklyn - dismissed Streisand as just another singer among many ambitious little Jewish girls from Brooklyn at the time.  That turned out to be quite an underestimation.

I was never a fan of the kind of Broadway-style songs that Streisand favored and being essentially amusical I found it easy to ignore her career for sixty years until I came across her book. After reading the book I now count myself a fan, more for her writing than her singing perhaps, though I have now taken the time to actually see and appreciate some of her performances online.

In the book's 970 pages Streisand tells a really captivating story of talent, crativity and tenacity, and she does so with a very east-to-read, conversational writing style. She spent ten years pulling together the story from her journals, detailing her early successes as a singer and the achievement of her dream of becoming an actor, and then moving on to being a writer, producer and director of films.  Along the way she meets and often works with every famous person you ever heard of.

Among the performances I found on Youtube, the one I liked best was from the live concert in Anaheim in July 1994. In that she sings many of the songs she talks about in her book.

Misguided Liberties

 I saw recently that The Nation has brought a new voice to its lineup of columnists, that of Zephyr Teachout.  Her most recent column asserts convincingly that "America Needs a New Free Speech Movement".  In the process of that article she presents some relevant omissions in the '60's understanding of the issues as well as some misguided policies of the American Civil Liberties Union, which I formerly supported without reservations.

For instance, she points out that the ACLU "has repeatedly filed briefs on behalf of Big Tech, defending Silicon Valley’s freedom to act as unaccountable monopolists, claiming that the state has no right to regulate the design of big tech, even if that regulation would make it more content-neutral."

Even more shocking to me: The ACLU "was also a strong supporter of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, filing a brief stating that corporations should have the right to spend unlimited money in elections."  That is certainly out of step with an informed understanding of the roll of money in politics, and a guarantee that the ACLU will get no more support from me in the absence of a clear course correction.

Nature

   The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is just a couple blocks from our house in Albuquerque.  I go there often on Wednesdays as admission is free then for old guys.  There is quite a variety of exhibits and programs including a celestial observatory.  I always stop by the windowed workshop where the preparators are patiently chipping away rock to reveal the fossilized remains of ancient creatures. 

Another favorite stop is the room devoted to small native animals including live snakes, fish,spiders,and turtles, some of which can be handled by visitors with the help of museum volunteers.

Cate and a beaver

    For several months a sign on the door says that the live animal facility is "temporarily closed".  The room lights are off, but it appears the animal exhibits are being maintained.  I suspect the delay in reopening the live animal exhibit is due to the need to devote a large amount of resources to a new chronologically organized exhibit of fossils found in New Mexico.  Also, the biologist who oversaw the live exhibit retired some time ago and has not been replaced.

    All of the above suggests to me that there is a need to review the priorities of the State-owned institution.  The space devoted to fossils, geology and space exploration dwarfs the size of the exhibit of present day animal life, which to me really seems a more important educational component of natural history. The emphasis on exhibits featuring dinosaurs very likely is important in attracting children and their parents to the museum, but the overwhelming space devoted to that subject may have less to do with educational value and more to do with commercially based values in our society. That idea was suggested to me recently by an article in The Guardian by Isabel Losada, Enough with unicorns and dinosaurs – show children the magic of real, living animals instead.

Nothing New

 Trump spent nearly two hours going through his usual list of lies and distortions.  He provided no coherent plan for changing -- let alone bettering -- the economy. The stories he made up about Social Security fraud were preposterous.  He had nothing new to say about Gaza or Ukraine; which is not surprising as his recent initiatives have gone nowhere.

The biggest  howler: Trumps dramatic assertion that the era of unelected bureaucrats running the government is over, as Musk smirked from the balcony.

Trump's purpose in proposing massive tariffs has no real economic intent, but rather is aimed at creating opportunities to extract random concessions from foreign leaders which he can then claim as some kind of victory, even though the net economic effects will be negative.

See the Jacobin dissection of Trump's speech and the Democrats' response:

In Responding to Trump’s Speech, Democrats Tacked Right

See Bernie's response to Trump's speech to Congress:

Bernie Responds to Trump’s State of the Union Address

FEALTY Definition & Meaning...

a: the fidelity of a vassal or feudal tenant to his lord 

b: the obligation of such fidelity 

The vassal vowed fealty to the king.

- Merriam-Webster

Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy in today's Whitehouse meeting because he was not exhibiting the proper amount of deference or fealty to his benefactors.  It did not seem like that was a pre-planned reaction.  It seemed like Trump was just stumbling around in his objections to having his buddy Putin characterized as an untrustworthy participant in negotiations. Vance jumped in to smooth over Trump's inarticulate sputtering.  Lost in the exchange was Trump's own objective of the meeting to establish an agreement over control of Ukrainian mineral resources as a condition of some continued support for Ukraine.

Migration As An Economic Stimulant

 U.S. border policies and their enforcement are almost wholly based on the ideas that migrants are a threat to safety and economic prosperity.  I don't expect any near-term changes in either those policies or their underlying attitudes.  However, not every country is dominated by such distortions, and it is possible to see alternatives in action elsewhere.

Spain, for instance, is outpacing the rest of Europe in regard to GDP growth, largely thanks to a thriving tourist industry staffed mostly with recent migrants to the country.  The migrants' entry into the workforce is facilitated by supportive housing and training services such as language instruction. The result has been that Spain's economic growth now exceeds that of Germany, France, Italy and England, and unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 2008.

All of the above is nicely explained in a recent Guardian article, How Spain’s radically different approach to migration helped its economy soar.

USAID

 (via Google)

US food and medical aid to the world's poorest is still in limbo

Politico

https://www.politico.com › news › 2025/02/13 › us-foo...

4 days ago — The Trump administration exempted lifesaving assistance from its foreign aid freeze, but providers say it's still not getting through.

United Press International: Trump USAID cuts create ...

JRS USA

https://www.jrsusa.org › news › united-press-internation...

The funding is used by organizations that bring food, clean water and medical supplies to war-torn countries and countries fraught with food ...

DOGE USAID Cuts: Wasted Food, Medical Supplies Add Up

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com › news › articles › usaid-fre...

5 days ago — There's also $10 million of emergency food supplies at risk in a South African warehouse and another $39 million of aid waiting for shipment ...

USAID Food Assistance Overview | Food for Peace

USAID (.gov)

https://www.usaid.gov › usaid-food-assistance-overview

USAID works with partners to provide life-saving food assistance to the most vulnerable around the world and reduce hunger and malnutrition.

Missing: medicine ‎| Show results with: medicine

Almost $500 million in food is at risk of spoilage after ...

CBS News

https://www.cbsnews.com › MoneyWatch

6 days ago — A report from the USAID inspector general says that almost $500 million in food assistance is sitting in ports, ships and warehouses.

Accountability

 Trump's disruption of USAID is leading directly to the imminent death of thousands through starvation and disease.  What could be a more clear example of crimes against humanity?

Rethinking Border Policies

 The policies of both major U.S. parties regarding borders and immigration a based on a morass of falsehoods and misinformation.  The approaches of Biden and Trump are fundamentally the same; neither enhances prosperity or safety of citizens or immigrants. The only hope for a genuinely rational approach to border issues is to set aside what exists and to start from scratch with actual facts and rationality.  A summary of John Washington's book in The Nation provides a beginning for that process:

11 Arguments for Open Borders

Understanding Trump

A quick Google Search lays out the essentials:

A psychopath is someone who has an antisocial personality and a lack of empathy and remorse. They may also be manipulative, deceitful, and impulsive.
 

Symptoms

    Lack of empathy: Psychopaths don't experience the same emotions as others, and may not be moved by things that affect others.

Manipulation: Psychopaths can be manipulative and exploitative, and may use violence, theft, or fraud to get what they want.
Deceit: Psychopaths may be deceitful and rationalize their behavior.
Impulsivity: Psychopaths may act impulsively and riskily.
Lack of remorse: Psychopaths may not care how their actions affect others, and may not feel guilt for causing pain.

Other traits Having a big ego, Limited emotional responses, Recklessness, Callousness, and Detachment.
 

Relationship to antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

    Psychopathy is not an official mental health diagnosis.
    Some traits of psychopathy overlap with symptoms of ASPD.  ASPD is characterized by a disregard for the rights, feelings, and safety of others.

Basically, Trump is a common bully who seeks power through instilling fear and anxiety. Simply not responding directly to his threats is probably a good idea.

That is not to say that his presence is not without dangers given the scale of his space for influence.  While Trump is individually a clown without the capacity to formulate any coherent plans, people around him are not so impaired.  By wrecking the structure of government Trump has given free reign to billionaires and right-wing ideologues who have ever greater sway over how and for whom the country is run,

Immigrant Rights in Albuquerque

 Hello Albuquerque,

Many community members have shared their fears and concerns about the White House’s recent orders on immigration. We want to remind our community that Albuquerque is, and will continue to be, an immigrant friendly city that appreciates and celebrates our immigrant community. City law says that city employees, including police, are not allowed to ask about or document immigration status. Trump's policies are still deeply concerning. We believe everyone in our city should be able to report crimes and take their kids to school, church, or the hospital without fear of having their family torn apart.

To help provide information and resources, the City of Albuquerque is hosting a series of webinars to support community members and business owners as they navigate immigration threats. 

If you or someone you know is facing difficulties or has questions about your rights, our Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) has resources available online at cabq.gov/OIRA, where you can find information, guides, and connect with local organizations who can help.

During these times, let’s keep looking out for each other and caring for one another in the One Albuquerque spirit. I hope to see you soon. 

Sincerely, 

Mayor Tim Keller

-------------

See the full message:

Immigration Webinar Schedule

 

The Elephant in the Room

... and the probability of detection.

Trump's justification for imposing tariffs on Canada is to force reduction of cross-border ingress of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants.  The contribution  of Canada to both of those unauthorized imports is 1%.  So, even if Trump's initiative in regard to Canada was 100% effective, the impact would affect 1% of the purported problem.  In exchange for the unlikely achievement of that outcome both countries will probably see catastrophic inflation and job losses.  But that is not the elephant.

The real elephant (driver) in the case of fentanyl, of course, is demand.  The real questions worth exploring are why the demand for illicit drugs is so high in the U.S. and what would be required to effectively reduce that demand.  Better support for behavioral health services seems a much more plausible way to attack the substance abuse issue.  What do you suppose  the chances are that such a policy will be supported by Trump and RFK Jr. ?

See:

What is motivating Trump’s reckless trade war?
Robert Reich

Deb Haaland

The fighter we need now.

On January 28, 2025, Haaland announced that she would run for governor of New Mexico in the 2026 election, seeking to succeed term-limited governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

See  her amazing story at Wikipedia

Immigration Reform for Dummies

 I don't know if there is that title in the works, but it seems like there is a large potential market.

Some possible chapter headings:

• Immigrants - documented and undocumented  - have significantly lower rates of criminal offenses than U.S. citizens.
• Most illegal drugs are brought into the country by citizens through normal ports of entry.
• Undocumented immigrants make up a large percentage of agricultural workers who are vital to the U. S. economy.
• People seeking asylum are driven by life-threatening circumstances which supercede any other threats including the possibility of rejection or expulsion at the border.
• Intolerable living conditions in Central and South America are attributable in a large part to centuries of U.S. foreign policy which has undermined democracy and favored corporate monoculture and mining interests.
• The billions proposed to deport immigrants would be better spent on supporting economic development in the immigrants' countries of origin.

 * * *

Trump’s neofascism is here now. Here are 10 things you can do to resist
- Robert Reich

Wikipedia

 A message from The String Queens -

YouTube

A Long Way to Go Yet

 Israel Embarks on an ‘Extensive’ Military Operation in the West Bank

The operation came after President Trump rescinded sanctions on Israeli settlers and after extremists raided Palestinian villages to protest the cease-fire. (NY Times)


Israeli forces shoot doctors in Jenin raid as 72 bodies found in Gaza

Three wounded in reported Tel Aviv stabbing attack
list 2 of 10
Published 23 minutes ago23m ago
‘The Israeli public is behind the settlers’
list 3 of 10
Published 38 minutes ago38m ago
UN human rights official says ‘massive restrictions’ on Palestinian freedom of movement
list 4 of 10
Published 53 minutes ago53m ago
Fast facts: Who are Israeli settlers?
list 5 of 10
Published 1 hours ago1h ago
Stefanik says Israel has a ‘biblical right’ to occupied West Bank
list 6 of 10
Published 1 hours ago1h ago
UN chief calls for ‘maximum restraint’ amid Israeli West Bank raids
(Aljazeera)

 

Acorn Mystery

 When I did an image search of just these large seed pods I got results which showed a variety of possibilities for identification including sycamores and oaks.  A search using an image of the contained component yielded no better results.

I went back to the park to take a better look and saw that a number of the pods had opened to reveal what appears to be a cap on an acorn.

Another image search seemed to narrow the choice to some kind of oak, possibly a Bur Oak.  I believe there are around five hundred types of oaks, so I'll await the judgment of someone with real expertise on the subject.

 ------------------------------------

( I am told by a trusted source that the correct answer is "Bur Oak".)

Osteo Mystery

 I found this pretty little bleached bone while walking the dog and slipped it in a coat pocket.

By the time I got home, the bone had broken in half.

I'm assuming because of the hollowness that the bone originally belonged to a bird.  A quick look at the Wikipedia bird anatomy articles suggests the bone is part of the wing, the Humerus, as shown in this diagrammatic representation.

The birds we see at our feeders are mostly sparrows, finches and a few pigeons, and doves. And, lately, some suet has attracted the attention of a Curve-billed Thrasher.

The size of the bone looks about right for a pigeon.

Tipping Points

 I have spent some time recently looking through the book-length catalog of the Deco Japan exhibit which came to Albuquerque in 2012.  When I wrote about it then it seemed the best Art exhibit I had ever encountered.  It still seems so in the thoroughness in which it captured and expressed a whole cultural era.

There was a great variety of art objects in the show, all of it characterized by extraordinary craftsmanship.  What stood out for me, though, was a message that was not explicitly stated.  In the midst of enormous artistic and cultural achievement there was an undercurrent of militaristic nationalism which would cause the country and the world to veer onto a catastrophic path.  Japan's cultural influence in the 1930s and '40s could have carried the nation forward with little added effort, but the country's leadership at that moment chose territorial expansion as its strategic course.

It seems to me that we are facing a dilemma similar to that of Deco Era Japan now, and not just in the U.S.  There are many differences in the details, of course, but the consequences of the wrong decisions have exponentially expanded *.

* At Searchlight New Mexico

Fish

 When we have out of town visitors we nearly always take them to the Aquarium. It is an exceedingly nice aquarium and the fact that such an oceanic environment exists here is certainly extraordinary.

Our visit on this occasion was especially enjoyable for us as we were accompanied by two divers who had swum with the fish in their natural tropical environments.  Not only did we hear about their underwater encounters, we also got to see snippets of videos and still shots depicting the same creatures we were seeing in front of us.

Our visit was not planned ahead, but the timing turned out extremely well.  It is always a thrill to see the maintenance people going about their tasks in their wet suits.

We arrived at the aquarium about 11:00 AM, which turned out to be the time the three river otters are provided with some food and training by two handlers.  We might have watched the otters briefly and moved on to the fsh exhibits, but a very well informed staff person on the viewing platform told us to stick around to catch the daily exercise.

The very active large male was lured inside to be out of the way while the two trainers put their charges through the daily routine.  One of the females just was not interested enough in the fish snacks to leave her sunny perch.  The other, however, quickly responded to all the prompts appropriately to get the expected rewards.

America's Disgrace

 From The Guardian:

Social order in Gaza will collapse if Israel ends cooperation with UN aid

and Biden's final contribution is billions for more bombs.